So, here’s the deal. Metatron is imprisoned, Sam is grieving, Castiel is on top of the world, and Dean is a demon. (What?!)

Last week’s episode left off with Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) swiping the First Blade at Gadreel (Tahmoh Penikett), cutting open his chest. The finale picked up within the same scene. Gadreel, contrary to popular belief, was not dead. He fled the bunker, only to be found later in the episode by Castiel (Misha Collins) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki). Castiel healed Gadreel, and they set off to work together to find the portal to Heaven.

After successfully finding the portal, Gadreel and Castiel made their way to Heaven, but were imprisoned immediately upon their arrival, in the same place in which Gadreel was imprisoned before the fall.

Gadreel was distraught, and decided to take matters into his own hands, killing himself in order to break out Castiel.

Castiel was able to find the Angel Tablet underneath Metatron’s typewriter. He shattered it on the ground, summoning Metatron (Curtis Armstrong). Castiel was sly with his actions, convincing Metatron to divulge his plans verbally, broadcasting it live on ‘angel radio’, revealing Metatron’s true intentions, and allowing Castiel to take the reigns.

The storyline for the episode had a strong Biblical parallel, focusing mainly on Cain and Abel. However, they didn’t choose to make it a perfect parallel, leaving out the main element of the story: a brother killing his brother. Earlier in the season, they introduced the character of Cain (Timothy Omundson). Crowley (Mark Sheppard) explained to Dean:

“[Cain] became the deadliest demon to walk the face of the Earth. Killed thousands. The best at being the worst.”

Cain explained to Dean within the earlier episode that he had sacrificed his soul to Lucifer for Abel’s soul in Heaven. Cain became a Knight of Hell in order to grant Abel salvation in Heaven.

The Mark of Cain was passed onto Dean, creating the parallel of Dean as Cain. However, in the middle of tonight’s final showdown, Dean fell and was stabbed and killed by Metatron. His last words were to Sam: “I’m proud of us.”

In a moment of desperation, something familiar to the Winchesters, Sam went to summon Crowley. However, in the final scene of the finale (clip below), we see Crowley sitting in the room with Dean’s body, speaking to him.

“Your brother, bless his soul, is summoning me as I speak. Make a deal, bring you back. It’s exactly what I was talking about, isn’t it? It’s all become so.. expected. You have to believe me. When I suggested you take on the Mark of Cain, I didn’t know this was going to happen. Not really. I mean, I might not have told you the entire truth, but I never lied. I never lied, Dean. That’s important. It’s fundamental. But.. there is one story about Cain that I might have.. forgotten to tell you. Apparently, he, too, was willing to accept death rather than becoming the killer that the Mark wanted him to be. So he took his own life with the blade. He died. Except, as rumor has it, the Mark never quite let go.“

Crowley then pulled out the First Blade, stood up, and walked over to Dean’s body, placing the Blade into Dean’s hand and laying it on his chest.

“You can understand why I never spoke of this. Why, said hearts would flutter at mere speculation. It wasn’t until you summoned me. No, it wasn’t truly until you left that cheeseburger uneaten that I began to let myself believe, maybe miracles do come true. Listen to me, Dean Winchester. What you’re feeling right now, it’s not death. It’s life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes, Dean. See what I see. Feel what I feel. Let’s go take a howl at that moon.”

And right then and there, Dean’s eyes opened. Black.

The finale set up Season 10 perfectly, creating conflict within multiple characters and flipping from Heaven to Hell in one final second. Season 9 focused mainly on the battle with Heaven, but it seems as if Season 10 is going to focus more on Hell.

One thing to consider is whether or not Dean will tell his brother about his demonic change. The Winchesters are known for lying through their teeth to each other about their problems. Will Dean keep this a secret from Sam?